Gone
by stuart-little-luver
Summary: Not officially dead, but not officially alive. Gone. Chloe was gone.
1. Chapter 1

**Beca Mitchell**

Present day

_"__Bye honey." _

It had been three years.

_"__I love you." _

It had been three years since Beca Mitchell had last seen Chloe Beale.

_"__Oh wait! I forgot my keys!" _

Three years. No clues, no evidence, no nothing.

_"__Do you want me to pick something up for dinner?" _

She was just

_"__Ugh, why Mexican?" _

Gone.

_"__Can we at least compromise and get Chinese?" _

The police say missing, but missing eventually implies found.

_"__Okay, so Chinese it is." _

She'd left for work.

_"__I'll see you when I get home, okay?" _

And never came back.

_"__Love you." _

_Love you too. _Beca had replied. She hadn't even bothered to say _I. _Just _Love you. _A response. A mindless, hollow response. The last thing she'd ever get to say to her girlfriend, and she hadn't even thought about it before she said it. She'd replay it in her head over and over, until the words sounded like gibberish. _Loveyouloveyouloveyouloveyou loveyouloveyouloveyouloveyou loveyouloveyouloveyou._

Beca knew she was dead. Of course she was. Though people argued otherwise, it had only taken a week for her friends and family to start talking about the redhead in past tense. She was dead. Consciously or not, everyone knew that.

She'd called the police the morning after she'd last seen her. She wasn't answering her phone, so Beca just figured it had died and that Chloe was having a drink of working late. But when she wasn't there in the morning, Beca knew something wasn't right. Chloe would've called. Even if her phone was dead, she would've found a way.

The police took the case soon after. Apparently the whole "24 hours" thing was a myth. They'd put up posters, there had been a news story. At the beginning, people cared. People cared that she was missing. People saw her as _Chloe._

It had taken a month for that to change. Chloe was gone. She became "a missing persons case" instead of a _person. _People didn't speak about her as if she were a human. She was an object. It wasn't what happened to her that was a tragedy, she _was_ the tragedy.

And so Chloe Noelle Beale was gone, not missing, but gone. Nobody looked anymore. Nobody cared anymore. They'd all moved on to the next story to cry over. The next story to bake cakes and donate to.

They'd never actually cared. Grey's Anatomy had probably been off the air for a while, so they needed something else to cry over.

Beca had expected it, for people to forget. She'd seen it happen many times. But what she hadn't been ready for was how much it hurt. How much it hurt for people to just give up. To stop looking.

But eventually she too realized what a lost cause it was. Chloe, _her _Chloe, was gone. Not officially dead, but not officially alive.

Gone. Chloe was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chloe Beale**

March 7th, 2009

Chloe hurriedly shoved her feet into a pair of tennis shoes, hopping down the hall. She'd overslept. Beca's sarcastic _again? _playing repetitively in her brain like a scratched CD. This would be the third time she was late to work. Not that it was a very prestigious job or anything, but Chloe didn't like to be late for things. It wasn't in her programming.

"Need some help there?" Beca was sitting at the counter, a bowl of Captain Crunch in front of her. She would never be able to understand how the brunette managed to get the stuff down her throat, never the less _enjoy _doing it. She was always more of a Special K type of gal.

"I've got-" she shrieked, losing her balance.

Beca laughed. "I think that's God's way of telling you that need to chill out and sit down."

Chloe smiled, still on the ground, and leaned over her leg to tie her shoes. "I've been late like, three times already. I don't wanna get fired."

"Ah, what a shame it would be if you did. You're well on your way to being assistant manager. Maybe one of these days you'll get to manage your _own Star Bucks_!"

Chloe brought her eyes to the ceiling, then back to Beca. "I'm only working there until I finish law school." When she had first talked about going to law school, Beca had laughed at her. She couldn't see the redhead ever being a lawyer. But the of it truth was, Chloe loved people. She believed that everyone, no matter the crime, at least deserved to be treated as they were: people. And so Chloe dreamed of being a defense lawyer, to defend those who everyone believed had no mortality.

"Grad school's for losers." Beca muttered, grinning at Chloe.

"Beca Mitchell: Queen of comebacks."

Beca snorted. "You'd better be nice to me, Beale."

Chloe giggled. "And why's that?"

"Well, you else is gonna help you get your wheel chair down the stairs after your birthday?"

Chloe laughed. "Twenty-five _is _pretty old, isn't it."

"Borderline _ancient. _People are gonna start asking you what it was like to live through the Civil War."

Chloe stood up and walked over to the counter. The feeling of urgency to get to work, gone. She picked up Beca's box of Captain Crunch.

"How do you _eat _this crap?"

Beca grabbed the box from her defensively, cradling it like a child.

"There there," she said soothingly to the box of cereal, beginning to rock it. "She didn't mean it."

Chloe sighed, grabbing her usual box of Special K. "You're ridiculous."

Beca set the box down. "Yes, but I'm _your _ridic- wait. That doesn't make any sense. Gimme a sec to think of something else."

Chloe giggled, grabbing a bowl and pouring her breakfast into it.

"Okay okay, I got it." Beca said, raising her finger into the air. "I'm not ri_dic_ulous, I'm ri_vagina_lous."

Chloe groaned, covering her face with her hands. "Beca, that was _awful." _

Beca smirked, stuffing a spoonful of cereal into her mouth. Chloe did the same. They sat in a friendly silence, spooning in bite after bite.

"I made reservations at Wild Fire for your birthday tomorrow."

Chloe lit up. She loved Wild Fire, but they always seemed to be booked. She hadn't been there for over a year.

"Are you serious?" she asked.

"Apparently Sudays aren't their busiest nights." Beca chuckled, looking past the redhead and at the microwave. "Uh Chlo, it's 8:24."

_Fuck. _

"Oh God." Chloe groaned, putting her spoon back into her cereal bowl. She leaned against the counter and pressed her lips to Beca's.

"Bye honey." she said sweetly. "I love you."


	3. Chapter 3

**Aubrey Posen**

September 21st, 2008

"Chloe and I are going out for drinks." the 26-year-old told her husband, Matt.

"Is this a girls night or are you gonna be home tonight?" he asked, tossing a mini M&M into his mouth. He held his hand out, offering a handful to his wife. She accepted, smiling at him.

The truth was, she wasn't going to be doing either of those things. She was going over to one of her old college friends', Benji, house to plan her husband's surprise birthday party. She didn't particularly like Benji. He was a weird one. He had been a friend of one of her old flings, Jesse. Jesse was an asshole. He treated her like shit, and, eventually cheated on her. So Aubrey wasn't eager to reacquaint herself with anyone that had anything to do with Jesse, but Benji owned a bar downtown that would be suitable for hosting the party.

"Nah." she laughed. "Not a girls night. I'll probably be home around ten or so? It won't take too long. It's just drinks."

Matt smiled at her, standing up from his place on the couch. He brushed his lips over her cheek and placed a supportive hand on his wife's stomach.

Aubrey laughed. "Not_ drinks _drinks! Just tea or something."

"When are you gonna tell her?"

"I feel like I should tell her super _super _soon because I'm actually not sure if I can keep it in much longer!" she laughed. "But a lot of people say to wait to tell anyone for nine weeks because what if something happens to the baby? I mean it is early on. And I don't wanna have to explain to people if somethingdoes-"

Matt kissed her, cutting her off. "Wouldn't you want Chloe to be there for you if something happened?"

Aubrey sighed. "So you think it's okay to tell her?"

"I think you should, her being your best friend. And honestly, do you _really _think you could keep that from her?"

She giggled, pressing her forehead against his. "I can't _believe _it! I mean, we've only been trying for, what, two weeks? Matt, we're gonna be parents!" Just the thought of it made her dizzy. A _mother. _She was going to be a _mother._

Tears rolled gently down her cheeks. She was so giddy with excitement she could hardly contain it. She had taken the test that afternoon. Three tests, actually, just to be sure.

Matt wiped the tears away with his thumb. "I can't believe it either. I mean, what school are we gonna send this thing to?"

Aubrey giggled, taking Matt's hands in her own. "We've got a lot of time to think about that, honey." She smiled. "I read somewhere that the baby is only as big as a poppy seed right now."

He smiled at her, kissing her forehead. "Think maybe we could keep it that size until it's potty trained? The smaller it is, the smaller the poop."

Aubrey placed a small trail of kisses down his neck. "I have work in an hour." she whispered. "As in, a whole _hour _to kill . . ."

She felt Matt lift her up. "You mean a _half an hour. _You have to have time to get there." He began to carry her to the bedroom, Aubrey's kisses gaining momentum.

When Matt got the door open, he placed her on the bed, beginning to place a few rough kissed of his own on her delicate neck. Aubrey hissed as he took a piece of flesh between his teeth, biting down.

He lifted his face from her neck to look her in the eye. "You're so beautiful." he murmured. She smiled, taking his lips in her own.

She grabbed his wrists and flipped him over, straddling him.

"You know what the best part about me being pregnant is?" She grinned. "No condoms."


	4. Chapter 4

**Beca Mitchell**

Present Day

As much as Beca hated to think about it, when Chloe had first gone missing, she'd figured the redhead had left her. As awful as that seemed, it was what had first run threw her mind. She'd called the police anyway, hoping against hope that she was wrong. Beca hadn't even considered what being wrong meant when she placed the call.

She'd told the police that Chloe had told her that she would be home the night before, and that she wasn't answering her phone calls.

The whole time she was on the phone, Aubrey hadn't even crossed her mind.

Beca hadn't really thought about what all this meant. What it _really _meant. In her mind, she just wanted the redhead home before their reservations at Wild Fire.

She couldn't have guessed that she would never see the redhead again.

The police had asked her to come down to the station for "more information." Though it wasn't officially a missing persons case yet, when and if it became one, Beca would be the main suspect. She had tried not to be offended, but it was just unbelievable to her that anyone could think that she'd hurt Chloe in any way, shape, or form.

_When she reached the station, she had no idea what she was suppose to do. Was it like a doctor's office, where you just told the front desk your name and they gave you the room number you were had to go? _

_She'd done just that. "Uh, my name's Beca Mitchell. I'm-er, here about my girlfr- Chloe Beale?"_

_A man and a woman, presumably policemen, walked passed the front desk. _

_"__We just need to ask you some questions." _

_"__You think I did something." _

_"__We don't think anyone did anything right now. But if there was some wrong doing here, we want to be able to knock you off the list of suspects."_

Apparently about an hour after she'd called, they'd found Chloe's car, still parked at the Star Bucks where she worked. They'd offered that maybe she had gone to spend the night with a friend, and planned on coming back for her car in the morning. But Beca could tell they didn't believe if. Neither did she.

_They brought her into a soundproof room, which seemed a bit friendlier than the ones they have on crime shows. _

_"This interview is being tape recorded and may be given in evidence if your case is brought to trial. The time is 10:31 am on Wednesday, March 8th 2009. This interview is taking place at Los Angeles Police Station". _

_Beca gawked at the two officers in front of her. This was the real deal. _

_"My name is Officer Zelle, and this is my partner O'Neill. We work at Los Angeles Police Station. My role today is to interview you in relation of the disappearance of Chloe Noelle Beale. O'Neill will be making notes during the interview purely for reference._

_"Can you give your full name and your date of birth please?"_

_"__Rebecca Nicole Mitchell. January 24, 1991." _

_Beca wiped her hands on her pajama pants. She hadn't really had time to get dressed that morning. _

_"__Okay. Where were you on the night of March 6__th__, 2009?" _

_Beca cocked her head in confusion. Why would they need to know where she was the night before her girlfriend had left? Gone missing. _

_"__I-Chloe and I had a night in." _

_"__Did you notice anything odd about her that night, ?" _

_"__Odd? No, same old same old. She wanted to watch a movie and I didn't, so we ended up playing Uno." _

_"__Did she express any concern to you? Mention anyone that may want to harm her?" _

_Anyone who may want to _harm _her? Was this police officer insane? _

_"__No. Not at all." _

_"__How is your relationship with ?" _

_"__It's great. Sure we'll sometimes argue about stupid things, but I-you know. I love her." _

_"__Give me a description of how they day of March 7__th__, 2009 went for you." _

_"__It was normal. Chloe woke up a little late, maybe fifteen minutes or so. She was trying to get ready really fast so she could get to work a little early. She was like that, she always had to be right on time. And then, well, it's her birthday today, so I made dinner reservations at Wild Fire? Yeah, Chloe loves Wild Fire. Then I went and spent pretty much the rest of my day at the studio. I'm a music producer, so, yeah. And then I came home, and Chloe wasn't there, which was weird because usually she gets home before me. It was like six. I thought she just picked up an extra shift or something. I called her around 8:30, I think? It went straight to voice mail, so I figured her phone was dead."_

Dead. The word was so strange to think about. That something could have that status of non existence. Dead.

"_I went to bed around ten. I called her probably five more times before that. When I woke up, she still wasn't there, which, officers, is so unlike her. If she weren't coming home, she would've found a way to call. Really. I'm positive she would've." _

_"__Did you call from a cellphone or a home telephone?" _

_"__Four times from my home phone, twice from my cell." _

_She watched the female officer scribble into a note pad, probably writing herself a reminder to check the phone record. _

_"__Was anyone with you that night? Anyone who could confirm your whereabouts?" _

_Beca thought for a moment. _

_"__My neighbor and I talked while we did laundry around 7 or so?" _

_"__Can I have a name?" _

_"__You mean my neighbor's name?_

_"__Yes." _

_"__Shawna Greenfield." _

_Scribble scribble. _

_"__Anyone else?"_

_"__No. I was home alone in my apartment for the whole night, except when I did my laundry."_

_"__What are your girlfriend's habits?"_

_"__I um . . . habits?"_

_"__Does she have a tendency to run away? Leave home?"_

_Beca fought the urge to laugh. "No. She has never 'run away' or anything like that. Ever. And she's not the type of person that would. You can ask anyone who knows her." _

_"__Okay Ms. Mitchell, I think that will be all for now. We'll call you if we find anything new." _

When Beca had gotten home that day, she broke down.

She put her hands over her face,falling to her knees. Tears leaked from her fingers onto the carpet of her apartment.

Chloe was missing. Oh God Chloe was missing. Chloe was _gone. _

Her chest heaved. Beca felt like the room around her was spinning. She was nauseous. Her teeth began to chatter.

_Gone. _

_Gone._

_Gone. _

_Gone. _

_Gone. _

Beca let out a heaving sob and flopped her body onto the floor, unable to hold herself up anymore. She curled her knees up to her chest and closed her eyes, wishing for the first time in years that she'd never have to open them again.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chloe Beale**

March 7th, 2009

Chloe rustled through the hallway of her apartment complex, muttering the repetitive _excuse me _each time she so much as brushed arms with someone.

She hated manners. They were meaningless words that meant little to nothing to those on the receiving end. Really, the only time people actually _noticed _manners was when there was a lack there of.

The alarm on her phone to remind her to leave for work had officially gone off 15 minutes ago.

Chloe sped up her pace, consciously stepping over every crack on the tile floor. She didn't know why she wanted to get to work so badly. It was terrible: low pay, lacking co-workers and a presumptively bug inhabited bathroom. Chloe was a _lady. _She would rather die than pee in that shithole.

She walked out the door and into the lightweight air of March. Part (approximately 98%) of her wanted to find the nearest field and run around in it. Pick dandelions and braid them into her hair. Pluck a piece of tall grass and pretend it was a flute. Picnic and dance in the sun, enjoy the lack of mosquito thus far.

And 7 months ago, she may have. She may have called in sick, went back to get Beca and picnicked in a park somewhere, just because they could. That used to be her train of thought. Happy go lucky. Love all hate none.

But now, that seemed absolutely ridiculous. Life wasn't about _fun._ It was serious. It was hard. Sometimes to the point where it hurt.

When she reached her car, she pulled out her keys to unlock it.

That was one of the many perks of being with Beca: Music producers make money. Enough money to pay for Chloe's means of transportation.

_Beep beep. _

Out of the two of them, Beca was _definitely _the neat freak. Gatorade bottles and candy bar wrappers lay scattered all over her car floor. Beca was always horrified when she drove anywhere with Chloe.

_"__Chloe, this is not okay."_

_"__What? It's just a little mess." _

_"__No, this is tyranny." _

_"__That doesn't make any sense." _

_"__Neither does your ability to leave your car in this condition." _

She groaned. If they drove her car to dinner tomorrow night, Beca would have a meltdown if she saw the trash currently littering the floor.

Chloe bent down, gathering up the various food wrappers (in some cases actually food) and bottles into her arms to throw out.

When she spotted the picture under all the clatter, she nearly dropped her bundle.

_"__I brought maracas!" Chloe declared, holding up a bag filled with the plastic bean shakers. _

_"__Oh my god Chloe you did _not _bring maracas to my wedding." the blonde giggled._

_"__It's Cinco de Mayo, Bree!" Chloe laughed, handing a maraca over to Aubrey. "I would've worn a sombrero too, but Beca said that everyone would remember you killing me instead of you getting married if I did." _

_The two girls looked at each other, and grinned. "Can I have this dance?" Aubrey asked, holding her hand out to Chloe. _

_"__Most certainly, m'lady." Chloe grabbed Aubrey's hand and they ran up to the dance floor. _

_This is why I'm hot_

_I'm hot cause I'm fly _

_You ain't cause you're not _

_This is why_

_This is why_

_This is why I'm hot _

_Both girls burst into a fit of giggles, shaking their maracas. _

_"__Smile." Evan, the wedding photographer grinned, holding the camera up to his eye to snap the moment._

Chloe set the trash down in the passenger seat and held the photograph, suppressing the urge to cry. She had tried not to think about Aubrey too much, she had her own life to attend to. For Christ's sake, her and Beca were getting _married _in November!

Never-the-less, she couldn't put the picture down. Aubrey was her friend. Her _best _friend.

She leaned her head back, willing the building tears in her eyes to crawl back into her skull.

It was then that Chloe realized something important: She had yet to talk to Matt. The thought hit her like a cannon bomb. Why hadn't she done that yet? What was wrong with her?

With out a thought, Chloe pulled her keys out, and slipped them in her pocket. Matt. She had to see Matt.


	6. Chapter 6

**Aubrey Posen **

September 21st, 2008

"I'm so not going into work today." Aubrey giggled, propping herself up on her elbow.

Matt smiled, nudging himself closer to the blonde. "Good. What about Allison?"

Aubrey shook her head. "Our little girl-"

Matt cut her off. "There is a very probable chance that it could be a boy."

She shot him a glare. "Our little _girl _deserves a unique name. Something special, just like she's gonna be."

"Okay, well how about . . . Delilah?"

Aubrey giggled. "Del_ilah_?"

"Hey! It's unique! I don't think I've ever met anyone named Delilah before."

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, I've never met anyone named Buttface before, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna name my kid that."

"Alright. Okay. Sorry your highness." He laughed. "Hmmm . . . how about . . . Genevieve?"

Aubrey smiled. "That's a good one. Or . . . or Emmalyn?"

"Nah. Too catholic school girl sounding. Auralee?"

"Sure. Uh, Clara?"

"I love the name Clara. Annabelle?"

"Okay. How about Iris?"

"A little harsh sounding, don't you think?"

"Yeah. Uh . . . Orchid?"

They burst out laughing. "No. Absolutely not." Matt laughed. "But I do like the idea of doing a flower name . . . Primrose?"

"I like Primrose. Rosalie?"

"Yeah. Lily?"

Aubrey positioned herself closer to her husband. "Matt, how about . . . how about Everly?"

They both smiled. "Everly . . ."

"Like an evergreen tree?"

"I love that."

"So . . ."

"So, I think the baby is as big as a poppy seed right now, but if it's a girl, I love Everly."

"Everly . . . oh God Matt. I still can't believe this is happening."

He brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "I know. I mean . . . _parenthood. _This is the real deal."

She frowned. "You sound nervous."

"That's because I _am _nervous. I feel like I'm about to shit myself! I mean, Aubrey, we're gonna be _parents_! We're gonna have another _human being _to take care of! Are you saying that doesn't scare you, not even a little bit?"

Aubrey's frown only deepened. "No. It doesn't scare me at all. Matthew, are you trying to say that out life together scares you?

"No! No, of course not! That's not what I was saying at _all_-"

Aubrey sat up. "Do you even want to have this kid?"

Matt looked taken aback. "Of course I do! I can't believe that you'd even _ask _that-"

"If the idea of having a kid makes you want to 'shit yourself', then maybe you're not ready to be a father." She spat, standing up from the bed.

"Aubrey, that's not what I said."

She turned away from him, and threw a T-shirt and a pair of jeans on. She turned towards the door.

"Oh God Aubrey, don't be like this."

As if she hadn't heard him, she stormed out the door.

"Shit."


	7. Chapter 7

**Beca Mitchell**

Present Day

One thing that was never acknowledged through out the investigation was emotion. Investigations were such heartless things, everything kind deed done for a reason, a calculation, an evaluation of guilt.

Not once, not fucking once, did anyone ever ask Beca how she was doing. Oh sure, when she'd ask how the investigation was going, if they had any idea where she was, they'd ask how she was holding up. But no one ever asked looking for an answer other than "fine." They never asked the question in a way that would let her answer it in the way it needed to be answered.

_When Beca awoke that next morning, she knew something was wrong. There was still no news on Chloe. _

_Apparently her alibi checked out, which Beca wasn't so sure was a good thing. An alibi? They were treating this like a murder investigation. _

_Beca's stomach lurched. Was this a murder investigation? _

_She let her head flop backward onto her pillow. No, of course not. Chloe wasn't dead. She wasn't. Beca knew that. _

_But if she wasn't dead, where was she? _

_Instantly a stream of possible whereabouts patulated across her mind. Beca sighed, desperately trying to shove the thoughts out of her head. _

_Chloe was fine, she was sure of it, so why was she getting so worked up? _

_PMS, she though wryly. _

_Where ever Chloe was, Beca hoped she hurried up and got home. They had dinner reservations to fill. _

Beca smiled at the memory. She'd been so naive to think that Chloe was coming home, would ever come home. Her car was still parked at work, all of her clothes were still in her drawers, and no one had seen her the day she'd gone missing.

Chloe was incorporeal, an intangible girl of what once was.

She was gone. Chloe was gone. She wasn't dead, she wasn't alive, she wasn't missing, she wasn't _anything _but gone. She was non-existent. Untraceable. Nothing but a memory. It was unsettling, like a book that never truly resolved. It keeps you hanging, with no intention of ever letting you fall.

And for the most part, Beca had gotten used to this. That Chloe was an unsolved mystery, and would more than likely remain that way.

And yet, there was never a phone call that didn't make her heart jump. After every ring, just for a split second, she let her mind wander to the possibility that it was Chloe. That it was Chloe calling her after all this time to tell her that she was alright, that she'd been through some pretty rough shit but she was okay, and that she was coming home.

Beca hated herself for it, for giving herself that ounce of hope. But she couldn't help it.

Beca closed her eyes, then shot them open. She felt the floor start to move under her feet.

A few picture frames on her wall began to violently tremble before falling off, making a shattering noise at they hit the floor.

In all the years she'd lived in Los Angeles, she'd never once experienced an earthquake. When she was a little girl, she'd had the notion that LA had earthquakes so often of a high enough magnitude to disconnect the state of California from the rest of the country.

She knew now, of course, that that was a loud of bullshit, but she'd still expected her first earthquake to be a bit more . . . _exciting_. It was like her house was on a big massage chair. Sure, a few pictures fell, but nothing extreme.

When the rumbling finally settled, Beca went over and picked the photos up. Of the five photographs that fell, three of them had cracked glass. She sighed. She obviously needed new frames. _Guess I know what I'm doing tomorrow. _

Setting the broken frames on her kitchen table, Beca walked over to the living room. She peeled off her jeans and socks and flopped lazily onto the couch. Sleeping in her bedroom had just seemed wrong without Chloe, so she usually just crashed on the couch, though on some rare occasions she did sleep on the floor, just to mix it up a little bit.

On the lids of her eyes, she saw another earthquake, a quake much stronger than the previous, causing her apartment building to collapse. She imagined the floor above her crushing her as the floor below her caved in. The feeling of sheer panic, but then again of sweet relief. Relief from her everyday limbo of a life.

"It's okay," she felt Chloe's sweet breath on her forehead. "It's just a dream. You'll wake up."

"No . . . I don't want . . ." Beca tried to form words, but couldn't.

"Shhhhh." the redhead whispered. And just as suddenly as she'd appeared, she was gone.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry I've been posting so many short chapters. The next one will be longer, promise :~)**

* * *

**Chloe Beale**

March 7, 2009

"Oh wait! I forgot my keys!" Chloe giggled into the open door of her and Beca's shared apartment.

"Dork."

Chloe knew that she wrote down Aubrey's address _somewhere. _She slipped down the hallway past Beca to their bedroom.

"Do you want me to pick something up for dinner?" she called, digging through one of her drawers. What did she do with it?

"Sure. Mexican?" Chloe grabbed her jacket, flipping out the pockets. _There it is! _

"Ugh, why Mexican?" the redhead groaned. "Can we at least compromise and get Chinese?"

Chloe smiled, hearing the taunting smirk in her girlfriend's laugh. "Sure, Chloe. That would be fine."

"Okay, so Chinese it is." She slipped the address in her pocket and started to walk down the hall.

"Alright."

"I'll see you when I get home, okay?"Chloe bent over to kiss the brunette sitting on the couch.

"Okey dokey."

"Love you." she called, shutting the door behind her.

She didn't know why she didn't tell Beca where she was going. It wasn't like she was doing anything _wrong._ She had a right to talk to her missing best friend's husband, didn't she?

Chloe inhaled sharply. She hated that word. _Missing. _Aubrey wasn't _missing, _some people just didn't know where she was, Chloe included.

It had been almost six months since Aubrey's . . . _disappearance. _And Chloe still hadn't bothered to talk to Matt.

_"Hello?" _

_"Chloe, I . . ." Chloe heard harsh breathing on the other end of the receiver. _

_"Bree, what's wrong?" _

_"I . . ." Aubrey whimpered. _

_"Aubrey, what is it? Are you okay?" _

_"I just . . . I made a huge mistake, Chloe. I had made such a huge fucking mistake. He-"_

_"Whoa honey, slow down. You mean Matt?" _

_"Yeah. He- God Chlo. God I really fucked up."_

_"Why? What happened?"_

_"It doesn't matter. Oh fucking-I really fucked . . . fucked up."_

_"Aubrey, can you please explain what's going on?" _

_"I . . . he's just scared Chlo. And I . . . I am . . . me too. I mean- .fucking . . . fucking fuck. Shit."_

_"Aubrey calm down-"_

_"I ruined everything. I fucking-"_

_"Aubrey please can you- Aubrey? Are you there? Hello?" _

That was the last Chloe had heard from Aubrey. The last anyone had heard from Aubrey.

When she reached her car, she unlocked it, and got in. She wasn't sure whether she wanted to cry or scream. Thinking about Aubrey did that to her. It was unclear whether she was feeling sorrow or frustration or both.

She shoved her car keys in, and twisted. The picture of her and Aubrey still sitting in the passenger seat. Chloe picked it up, the details blurred from her shaking hand.

_Cry, _she decided as a few tears escaped. _She wanted to cry. _


	9. Chapter 9

**I pity tha fool that puts up with this story. Just kidding. :~) It will all start making sense soon, I promise.**

* * *

**Aubrey Posen**

September 21st, 2008

Aubrey was absolutely furious. _How could he do this to her?_

They had made the decision to start trying _together. _If he wasn't ready to be a father, then why didn't he just say so?

_Because he's a liar. A fucking. Liar. _

Aubrey didn't know where she was going yet. She had been driving aimlessly for about a half an hour, taking almost each turn she saw.

Her mind was spinning a thousand miles a minute. She felt dizzily hurt and upset: two things Aubrey Posen typically took special measures to avoid.

The last time she'd felt those two emotions was when she was with Jesse.

"_Oh my fucking God!" Aubrey shrieked. Jesse removed his lips from the boy-toy they were currently attached to. _

_Aubrey had gone out to go shopping with Chloe earlier. Jesse hadn't said anything about even being in her dorm, never-the-less fucking someone in it, so it was a surprise to see him there in the first place. _

_On the bed side table, Aubrey's bed side table, there was a 3/4ths empty bottle of Vodka. _

_Aubrey was furious, to say the least. She was mad, she was hurt, and shit, she was sad. She knew Jesse wasn't a good guy, wasn't the guy he so claimed to be. It had smacked her in the face, literally, three times at this point. Never hard enough for her to leave though. Never hard enough to get her to open her eyes. _

_She loved him. Yes, maybe just for his sex and for the sake of security. But in her own twisted way, she cared for him. Which was why it was painful, more so than any of his 'love taps', to see him fucking a girl that wasn't her. _

_A girl that wasn't her, but sure looked a whole lot like her from the back . . ._

_Aubrey could tell that the girl had removed her top and bra, and the only remaining clothing was her pants. Her hair was blonde, just like Aubrey's. It was put up in a vaguely familiar updo. She almost felt like she knew the girl from somewhere . . . _

_And then Aubrey saw it. _

"_Kaitlyn?!" she felt the clear lava of fury and betrayal erupt down her cheeks. Her little sister. Jesse was fucking her 16-year-old, underage, little sister. She'd forgotten that the girl was coming to visit her dorm today. She must've been here when Jesse came in-_

"_Aubrey _please _calm down!" the young girl pleaded with her sister. "He he . . . I . . ." _

_Aubrey ignored her sister. She wasn't to blame for this. She was so young. Aubrey had no doubt in her mind that Jesse had taken advantage of her innocence._

_She turned to face Jesse. "Jesse, what the _fuck_?! She's sixteen years old. Six teen years old!" Aubrey was screaming. All she could see was red. "How could you?! My littler sister! My little. Fucking. Sister!"_

_He walked towards her, his eyes narrowed. "Aubrey, you don't understand-"_

"_Then please, explain it to me." _

"_Aubrey just-"_

"_Explain it to me!" she yelled. _

"_Please just-"_

"_Explain-"_

"_I'm pregnant!" she heard a shriek rise from the back of the room. _

_The room was filled with an air of silence. _

"_I-I'm pregnant." Kaitlyn repeated shakily, less confident than the first time."I'm pregnant with Jesse's baby."_

_The explanation was so abrupt and unreal, Aubrey was convinced she had heard the girl wrong. _

"_You're what?" _

_How had this happened? When had this happened? _

_Aubrey swallowed hard, not sure if anything that was happening was real. "How far?" she squeaked. _

"_Two months." Kaitlyn whispered. At this point, Jesse put his arm around the girl. The underage girl. _

"_Aubrey, I care about you. Just not-" _

"_As much as you care about my sixteen-year-old sister. Yeah. I got that." her voice was quieter now. More forced air than real sound. _

"_I love her, Aubrey-" _

_Aubrey turned to her sister. "You . . . you whore!" she screamed. Her sister was _pregnant. _Her sister was pregnant with her _boyfriend's _baby. This wasn't happening. There was no way._

"_How long, huh? How fucking long have you been fucking my boyfriend, huh?" _

_Kaitlyn's eyes filled with tears. "Aubrey don't be this way-"_

"_How. Fucking. Long!" _

"_Six months. We met at your birthday party." the girl looked beyond nervous. She was trembling, her entire body was trembling. _

"_Oh my fucking God. How could you . . . slut! Slut!" _

_Jesse glared at her. "Don't talk to Kaitlyn that way." _

_Aubrey felt like she was bursting at the seams. "And _you_! You . . .you . . . you pervert! She's sixteen. Sixteen! How could you. How fucking could you!" _

_Jesse moved forward until he was inches in front of her. "Because I love her." _

"_Love her? Love her? I bet you anything you'll leave her with in the first-"_

_His palm connected with her cheek, making an unpleasantly loud smacking noise. _

"_Don't you dare talk to me like that, do you understand me?"_

_Aubrey couldn't move. The entire room was spinning too fast. Her sister. Jesse. Fucking. In her room. In her bed. Kaitlyn. Pregnant. With Jesse's baby. Pain. Pain. _

"_Get out." she whispered hoarsely. _

"_Aubrey . . ." Kaitlyn pleaded. _

"_Get out. Get out this instant. Before I call the police."_

_And so they left. _

_That was the last time Aubrey saw either of them. _

Aubrey was right. Jesse did leave Kaitlyn. Sooner than Aubrey had expected. A month before the baby was born. She knew because Kaitlyn had left her sobbing voice mails, begging for forgiveness. But Aubrey wouldn't have it. What she did was unforgivable.

A year later, she'd met Matt. Matt, who'd turned her life around for the better. He had made her feel beautiful. Made her feel like she mattered. Made her feel important. And so she married him, because he loved her and she loved him. It was wonderful: Marriage, life, Matt. It was so perfect. It was so perfect until now. Now . . .

Now she had no idea what she was gonna do. Matt didn't want the baby. He wasn't ready. She'd thought he was ready.

Would he leave her?

The thought made her nauseous.

Would she have to leave Matt to care for the child on her own?

That thought made her even moresick.

Part of her hated Matt. For not loving her enough to start a family. It was clear as day on his face that he didn't want a family. Not with her.

So what would she do now?

She felt tears burning in her eyes, threatening to slip out each bump she hit.

She hated Matt. As much as her heart told her otherwise, she hated him.

The tears started to blur her vision, so she pulled over. She rested her head on the steering wheel, and began to sob.

Kaitlyn must have been so afraid. Afraid to raise a baby on her own. With no one to help her. The though made Aubrey cry harder.

She'd left Kaitlyn. She'd left her all alone. To raise a baby, to take on the world.

She shouldn't of had to do that on her own.

Aubrey thought of Kaitlyn, doing the exact same thing she was doing now. Sobbing, worrying. Things a sixteen year old should only be doing over sixteen year old boys, not pregnancies.

The thought made her stomach lurch.

Without thinking, she grabbed her phone from her purse, and flipped through her contacts, until she found the one she was looking for.

The phone was shaking in her hand as she held it up to her ear, waiting for an answer.

And finally, she picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hi Kaitlyn. It's uh, me. Aubrey. I uh-"A chocking sob cut her off. At first Aubrey had thought it was Kaitlyn, but after a moment, she realize it was her. She was sobbing, not Kaitlyn. Because she was the one that was alone now.

Funny how life works.


	10. Chapter 10

**Okay this chapter isn't the best, and there are probably mistakes (A fantastic way to start out a chapter, I know)**

* * *

**Beca Mitchell**

Present Day

"Good morning I'm Linda Taylor here with some developing news. An earthquake rocked a large portion of southern California last week, with a magnitude of 6.2. Two have been found dead. The police is not releasing anymore information."

Beca flipped to the Food Network. She was tired of hearing about that damned earthquake.

"So, the pizza has to be, the dough, has to be completely cooked at this point. Nice and golden, I can pick it up. It's hot, but it doesn't stick." She smirked. When in doubt, go to the Food Network.

She sank back into her chair, eyes trained on the television. The only thing on her mind remembering the instructions to make chocolate pizza, until she heard the sudden hollow echo of knuckles rapping on her door. The knock was desultory, half-assed. Whoever it was didn't want to be there.

Standing up, she grabbed the remote and shut off the TV.

"One second." she called. When she opened the door, she was met face to face with a man about forty. He was only a couple inches taller than her, short for a man. The woman standing next to him, was a bit younger, and a lot taller. She was thick around the middle, with neatly clipped hair and emerald green eyes. She would almost have been pretty, if it weren't for the chunky police outfit she sported.

"Ms. Mitchell?" she addressed, more than asked. "I'm Detective Reilly, and this is my partner Detective Parks."

Beca's eyes widened. "From missing persons?"

"Can we come in?"

"What is this about?" Beca demanded. "Did you find Chloe?" No, if they'd found her, they would have said so by now.

"Can we please come in?" she insisted. Beca stepped aside and allowed them inside.

"Can you please tell me what this is about?" she queried, then sighed. "Look, if this is about that parking ticket-"

"Maybe you should sit down."

Beca blinked. Sit down? "I'm okay."

"Rebecca," Detective Parks started gently. "There's no easy way to say this, but, Beca, we found a body . . ." Beca didn't understand. Why were they telling her this?

"and we think it's Chloe's."

She felt her jaw go slack.

_Oh God. _Her throat tightened. "Are you, are you sure?"

"The DNA came back a match for Chloe's. I'm so sorry."

"Where was she? What happened?" A grim silence took over the room.

"During the earthquake last night, a building collapsed. We found her in the ruble." she spoke quietly. Somberly. As if she was afraid she'd hurt Beca.

"What happened?" she repeated, this time a bit more assertive.

"We . . . we believe she was murdered."

She felt the tremors of her heart beginning to break. The temporary house she'd built on its seismic divide, shaking and cracking as its halves slid and settled. No more missing. No more lost.

She felt the landslide of brick and mud, the barriers, the shields, crashing down, leaving her raw. The screaming emotions, scrambling to get away from the flying matter. Chloe was dead. _Dead. _

In the aftermath she felt the turmoil abate. The quick, snip snap of her heart when it broke.

Chloe had been murdered. Someone had taken her life. She must have been so afraid. So alone.

"Was she . . ." Beca quavered. "Was she wearing clothes when you found her?"

"Rebecca . . ."

"Was she wearing clothes or not!" she shrieked, tears flooding her eyes.

Detective Parks met her gaze. "No."

"Oh my God." she couldn't hold it in any longer. Her knees locked, making the room spin. She burst into a body wracking sob, choking on her own breath until her entire being felt like pins and needles.

Where had Beca been when Chloe had the life drained out of? Doing her fucking laundry? Reading in bed?

The thought made her sick. The thought that while the rest of the world was receiving bed time stories and good night kisses, her Chloe had been dead. Bereft of life.

It was then that it hit her. Chloe wasn't gone. She was more than gone. Chloe was dead.


End file.
